Military Coup in Guatemala 1983

[ 1983 ]

In October 1983, Rios Montt was removed in a coup by disgruntled army officers. Among other complaints, they objected to the president's evangelism: he had become a tele-evangelist, and preached regularly on television, calling on Guatemalans to come to Jesus and be saved. Conservative Catholic officers, and younger men who had studied in the United States, did not appreciate the call.

The Reagan administration had approved the 1983 coup (though it did not initiate it). The new president, General Oscar Mejia Victores, introduced a new pacification plan, to be carried out with American help, called the "Plan of Assistance to the Areas of Conflict" (PAAC)...